Training seeks to put power of employment in the hands of youth

A total of 100 young entrepreneurs drawn from Nairobi’s informal settlements graduated last week after undergoing a training programme funded by Citibank.

The 10-week entrepreneurship programme is targeted at teaching young people how to run their ventures to make them competitive and create job opportunities rather than relying on employment.

This initiative is funded by Citi Foundation and is being implemented by youth development network (YMCA). It aims to reach 500 young entrepreneurs in Kenya.

“Empowering youth to be competitive and self-reliant is pivotal in addressing youth unemployment in Kenya,” said Youth Enterprise Fund chairman Ronald Osumba who presided over the event.

The ceremony took place on Tuesday last week at the YMCA Shauri Moyo Centre, off Jogoo Road in Nairobi. YMCA national general secretary Jared Musima said the training programme seeks to equip young entrepreneurs with practical skills that they can use to grow or start viable businesses.

“The youth are the engine of this nation’s growth. We can tap their skills, energy and creativity to transform Kenya,” he said.

Citibank’s social investing arm, Citi Foundation, is also implementing a similar project in Uganda.

The bank reckons that training young people is key to addressing the headache of youth bulge and rampant unemployment among the youth.

“We are working to bolster their competitiveness in entrepreneurship and in the job market,” said Nick Kamere, Citibank’s head of human resources.

The project specifically targets Kenyan and Ugandan young men and women, both in and out of school, from low income backgrounds who are aged between 15 to 25.

Training is conducted in two separate modules that participants can choose from; the first, a seven-week course that focuses on ICT and entrepreneurship; the second, a 10-week programme that combines ICT and entrepreneurship with leadership training.